BENGALURU: TV18 Broadcast Limited (TV18) has reported a PAT of Rs 103.63 crore (5.27 per cent of net total income from operations or Op Inc) in FY-2014 as compared to a loss of Rs (-25.45) crore in the previous fiscal. The company reported a (-30.51) per cent drop in Q4-2014 PAT to Rs 35.91 crore (6.37 per cent of Op Inc) from Rs 51.68 crore (9.83 per cent of Op Inc) in the immediate trailing quarter, but more than double (2.08 times) the PAT of Rs 17.30 crore (3.44 per cent of Op Inc) of the year ago quarter Q4-2013.

Note :100,00,000=100 lakh = 1 crore = 10 million.

TV18 reported Op Inc of Rs1968.13 crore in FY-2014, which was 15.83 per cent more than the Rs 1699.13 crore in FY-2013. Op Inc in Q4-2014 at Rs 563.29 crore was 7.2 per cent more than the Rs 525.47 crore in Q3-2014 and 18.67 per cent more than the Rs 474.68 crore in Q4-2013.

Two segments – Media Operations and Film production and distribution contribute to TV18’s revenues.

TV18’s Media operations segment reported operating revenue of Rs 1895.46 crore in FY-2014, 20.85 per cent more than the Rs 1568.45 crore in FY-2013. The segment reported an operating profit of Rs 185.05 crore which was more than double (2.22 times) the Rs 83.23 crore in FY-2013. For Q4-2014, the segment reported operating revenue of Rs 579.41 crore which was 15.05 per cent more than the Rs 503.59 crore in Q3-2014 and 33.2 per cent more than the Rs 434.98 crore in Q4-2013. Media operations segment reported an operating profit of Rs 54.33 crore which was (-33.12) per cent lower than the Rs 81.24 crore in Q3-2014, but 2.55 times the Rs 21.30 crore in Q4-2013.

Let us look at the other Q4-2014 and FY-2014 numbers reported by TV18

The company’s film production and distribution (film) segment reported an operating loss of Rs (-24.20) crore in FY-2014 as compared to a loss of Rs (-0.42) crore in FY-2013. Revenue reported by this segment in FY-2013 at Rs 101.77 crore was (-41.32) per cent lower than the Rs 173.43 crore in FY-2013. Loss reported by TV18’s film segment in Q4-2014 was Rs (-4.59) crore against a negative operating revenue of Rs (-14.61) crore. The segment had reported operating revenue of Rs 35.53 crore and a loss of Rs (-14.28) crore in Q3-2014, while in Q4-2013, it had reported operating revenue of Rs 54.20 crore and an operating profit of Rs 6.16 crore.

TV18’s Total Expense (Tot Exp) in FY-2014 at Rs 1813.19 crore (92.13 per cent of Op Inc) was 11.30 per cent more than the Rs 1629.04 crore (95.87 per cent of Op Inc) in FY-2013. Tot Exp in Q4-2014 at Rs 513.76 crore (91.21 per cent of Op Inc) was 11.66 per cent more than the Rs 460.12 crore (87.56 per cent of Op Inc) in Q3-2014 and 11.66 per cent more than the Rs 450.97 crore (95.01 per cent of Op Inc) in Q4-2013.

TV18’s programming cost in FY-2014 at Rs 508.64 crore (24.84 per cent of Op Inc) was 7.74 per cent more than the Rs 472.10 crore (27.78 per cent of Op Inc) in FY-2013. In Q4-2014, the company spent Rs 155.28 crore (27.57 per cent of Op Inc) towards programming cost, which was 8.9 per cent more than the Rs 142.58 crore (27.13 per cent of Op Inc) in Q3-2014 and 47.34 per cent more than the Rs 105.39 crore (22.20 per cent of Op Inc) in Q4-2013.

The company paid Rs 60.53 crore (3.08 per cent of Op Inc) towards finance cost in FY-2014 which was less than half (42.15 per cent) of the Rs 143.61 crore (8.45 per cent of Op Inc). Finance cost in Q4-2014 at Rs 13.16 crore (2.34 per cent of Op Inc) was (-23.09) per cent lower than the Rs 17.10 crore (3.26 per cent of Op Inc) it paid in Q3-2014 and (-42.66) per cent lower than the Rs 24.46 crore (5.15 per cent of Op Inc) in Q4-2013.

Network18’s marketing expense in FY-2014 at Rs 597.44 crore (30.36 per cent of Op Inc) was 5.18 per cent more than the Rs 568.03 crore (33.43 per cent of Op Inc) in FY-2013. Marketing expense in Q4-2014 at Rs 150.48 crore (26.71 per cent of Op Inc) was 6.89 per cent more than the Rs 140.78 crore (26.79 per cent of Op Inc) in Q3-2014 and (-16.87) per cent lower than the Rs 181 crore (38.13 per cent of Op Inc) in Q4-2013.

Other expense in FY-2014 at Rs 366.61 crore (18.63 per cent of Op Inc) was 25.67 per cent more than the Rs 291.73 crore (17.17 per cent of Op Inc) in FY-2013. TV18’s other expense in Q4-2014 was 11.55 per cent more at Rs 108.36 crore (19.24 per cent of Op Inc) as compared to the Rs 97.14 crore (18.49 per cent of Op Inc) in Q3-2014 and 34.1 per cent more than the Rs 80.81 crore (17.02 per cent of Op Inc) in Q4-2013.

TV18’s take on its results:

Note:Reported results are inclusive of the financial consolidation of ETV News (100 per cent) and ETV Entertainment (50 per cent) from 22 Jan 2014 till 31 March 2014. On 22 Jan 2014, post receipt of required regulatory approvals, TV18 completed the acquisition of the ETV channels – 100 per cent of ETV News, 50 per cent of ETV Entertainment and 24.5 per cent of ETV Telugu. In accordance with the accounting policies, ETV News and ETV Entertainment have been consolidated at 100 per cent on a line by line basis.

FY-2014

Reported annual revenues on a consolidated basis are up 15.8 per cent to Rs 1,968.1 crore and operating profits (EBITDA) have nearly doubled to Rs 210.5 crore.

On a consolidated basis, advertising revenues grew 11 per cent year on year. Net Distribution Income (NDI) continued its steady climb to close at Rs 178 crore, up from Rs 15.7 crore in FY13.

Operating profits from television operations doubled from Rs 114.2 crore to Rs 233.6 crore. General News delivered a 6.9x growth in annual operating profits and grew to Rs 22 crore. Business News remained stable despite a downturn in the markets and the absence of the Union Budget.

Infotainment broke into positive territory and entertainment television business registered a 2.9x growth in operating profits (EBITDA) which stood at Rs 108.4 crore.

Q4-2014

Reported revenues on a consolidated basis are up 18.7 per cent YOY. Advertising revenues stood at Rs 357.8 crore. The Entertainment and General News businesses witnessed encouraging advertising revenue growth. Net Distribution Income (NDI) continued its strong financial performance through the quarter.

The company successfully launched MTV Indies and Rishtey in the entertainment segment and ETV Bangla, ETV Kannada and ETV Haryana in the regional news segment.

Network18 managing director Raghav Bahls said, “We are enthused by the outstanding performance of TV18 for this financial year. All our businesses contributed positively to achieve our highest ever post-tax profits of Rs 103.6 crore, despite the continued uncertainty in the macro-economic environment. We are confident of sustaining our growth trajectory, as we continue to extract value from our existing operations as well as profitably grow our newer initiatives.”

Network18Group former CEO B. Saikumar said, “We are extremely pleased that all our broadcast operations continued to deliver their margins despite softness in the advertising environment. IndiaCast has delivered a stellar swing in net distribution income. While our Business news operations remained stable, our General news operations, led by CNN IBN, have turned around this year, due to a strong focus on operational synergies, further aided by the elections. Infotainment operations at A+E Networks I TV18 broke into positive territory. Our broadcast entertainment business at Viacom18, led by Colors, profitably grew operations along with the successful launch of Rishtey and MTV Indies. We are focused on delivering a strong performance in the coming year, as we look forward to an improving media landscape.”